Save Article

Ticker Switch Lets NYSE Traders Use 4-Letter Words

By

Geoffrey Rogow

Updated May 26, 2009 12:01 a.m. ET

If you want to know on which market the stock you own is trading, just looking at the ticker symbol won't work anymore.

Historically, New York Stock Exchange firms have had one-, two- or three-letter tickers, while Nasdaq-listed had four or five. Since the start of this month, however, new guidelines from the Securities and Exchange Commission have opened up the formerly hard-and-fast rule for ticker symbols.